I just received an email containing this story.  It's a good one that easily applies to our everyday lives and interactions with people.  Thought it was good enough to share...

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one."

"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them ovey us, we can turn the whole animal.  Or take shipas as an example.  Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.   Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark." 

Krista Ingram - Colorado Realtor